Marty Mornhinweg and Tim Tebow had a "long discussion" about the QB and can do for the Jets if he remains on the team. / Rob Foldy, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

Part of Marty Mornhinweg's duties as the New York Jets' new offensive coordinator has been catching up with quarterback Tim Tebow, and trying to figure out how Tebow would work into his offensive plans.

"I'm excited to coach all of our players, including Tim. We had a long discussion," Mornhinweg said Monday on a conference call. "He's got my thoughts on the situation, and he has some thoughts as well. If he's on this football team, which he is right now, I would do it a certain way."

And there's the important word: If.

Hours after the teleconference, the Jets announced they had signed free agent David Garrard, who gives them four quarterbacks on the roster: Mark Sanchez (who, according to Mornhinweg, has "a leg up" on other Jets quarterbacks), Greg McElroy (who started last season when Sanchez finally was yanked), Tebow and Garrard.

That makes it difficult to envision a situation in which Tebow remains with the Jets a year after the team's experiment failed. The Jets traded two draft picks to the Denver Broncos for Tebow last March, and spent all summer talking about the innovative ways in which Tebow would be used.

But, of course, that never happened, and Tebow's most significant action came on punt coverage.

At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last month, head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik said there would be an open competition at quarterback, but both declined to speak in much specifics about Tebow. Mornhinweg, hired in January after seven years in Philadelphia, was slightly more open, as he praised Tebow's "gut instincts" -- but that was after saying Mark Sanchez would have "a leg up" on another other quarterbacks in Jets camp.

"What (Tebow) did in Denver a year ago was something else. The man can play football. How you utilize him will certainly be the key," Mornhinweg said. "Just talking in general, (with) quarterbacks, the decision making is key, as well as accuracy and timing, so he certainly has some of that. It'll be interesting to see exactly where he's at."